


"Just Run."

by aeteal



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Death, Deviates From Canon, Eret knows he fucked up by betraying lmanburg, Hostage Situations, Hurt No Comfort, Kinda?, Major Character Injury, On the Run, Redemption, Self-Sacrifice, THE WAY SHE STOOD UP TO SCHLATT..... MY QUEEN, Tragedy, War, also can we PLEASE TALK ABOUT NIKI, im not great at tags i hope this is good, jschlatt is written as a villain, post election fallout, so he's just trying to be good
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26631040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeteal/pseuds/aeteal
Summary: Eret betrayed L'manburg, the ties he held to his former friends long burnt away.Of course, he wasn't expecting his actions to still have such consequences, but what's done is done. Now, as a new face threatens the entire SMP, perhaps it's time Eret attempts to rectify his actions. If he can get Niki free and give her a chance to get away from Schlatt, maybe she can find Wilbur- maybe she can give him hope, and maybe she can help turn the tides.Eret makes his decision: He has to help Niki escape...even if it costs him his life.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 309





	"Just Run."

**Author's Note:**

> not me, failing all of my classes, and then writing this instead of catching up!! noooo absolutely notttt
> 
> I'm not gonna lie, I forgot a lot of details about the election night so I made some stuff up! Especially with the items eret has. i don't feel like rewatching the vod because I know I would just realize I got it wrong and then I'd have to rewrite like half of this, lol
> 
> Also- Schlatt is written as a villain here. That's not a reflection of him in real life! The character he's portrayed in the streams is what this is based on, please do not associate the actual cc's with the actions of bits in the smp/fiction  
> anyways, enjoy!

He hates his laugh.

Normally, Eret wouldn’t hold such apprehensive feelings towards another, but right now the boisterous laugh of their new “President” is making him sick to his stomach.

In front of him, Niki is cornered against the hefty wooden fences of Jack Manifold’s balcony. Iron bars block her off from the others, trapping her completely. She stands unwavering, however, barely intimidated despite being clearly outnumbered.

“You won’t get away with this!” Niki challenges as she stares down the competition, many of whom are her former companions. “I won’t let you get away with this!” In response, Schlatt just laughs. 

Eret is stuck, cramped somewhere behind Schlatt and the others. He wasn’t paying too much attention, but he thinks it’s himself, Quackity, George, Jack Manifold, and Punz- all of whom have pledged their loyalty to the elected government. Eret’s crossbow is loaded, and his breath is stuck in his throat as Punz bumps past him. The blonde quickly steps over the balcony fence, sword in hand as he goes to stand threateningly behind Niki.

Schlatt says something in reply to Niki, but Eret isn’t paying attention to his words. Instead, he’s focused on the woman who’s standing strong. Her weapons have been taken from her, and her inventory is bare, but the look on her face proves it doesn’t matter- the iron bars are the only thing between Schlatt and a bloody beating from her clenched fists.

The whole group is laughing now at something Niki said, but Eret stopped listening to the others entirely. His hand hovers slightly above his hotbar, knowing immediately that the cool metal he touches is that of his axe.

What is he supposed to do? He can free Niki now, and show his exact hand, or go along with the others. The conflict is making his head spin, and if he weren’t so nauseous maybe he’d laugh about it. Here he is again, at the crossroads of war, and he’s presented with a choice. There’s no way he can stand for Schlatt’s tyranny, and he won’t, but there’s no way in hell Wilbur would welcome his aid. (and Tommy, for that matter. The teen still distrusts him, which is pretty understandable.)

But he just wants to help. How is he supposed to help? Both Tommy and Wilbur have ignored his messages offering aid. 

Niki’s gasp breaks him out of his thoughts, and Eret looks up to a disheartening sight. Beside him, his friends have all loaded their crossbows and pointed them right at her. Schlatt’s hand is raised, prepared to give the order to fire. Even in the face of a painful death, Niki stares down each and every arrow.

“For L’manburg.” She spits with venom on her tongue, adjusting the collar of her uniform. “For Wilbur.”

For Wilbur.  
_For Wilbur… ___

__That’s it- that’s what he has to do._ _

__Eret pushes his sunglasses up on his nose, quickly sorting through his inventory for an ender pearl, which he puts into his other hand, and then sorting for his sword. The handle rests easy in his palm, and with a swift movement, he swipes it upwards out of his hotbar and to his right. The netherite blade slices easily through George’s crossbow beside him, pointing it upwards and releasing the arrow towards the sky._ _

__“Niki!” Eret calls for her attention, and in the time it takes the others to turn and face him, he’s pulled the axe from his hotbar and tossed it by the handle in Niki’s direction. She reaches through the bars, grabbing the heavy tool and quickly pulls it back in the space between the metal._ _

__“What the hell?” Schlatt questions, eyes moving to follow the axe in frustration. Niki swings the axe down quickly, the floor below her cracking in half as she falls to the ground below. The crossbows are all pointed at Eret now, and with a smile, he tosses the ender pearl off the balcony._ _

__“Shoot him!” Someone yells, and it’s Punz who actually releases the trigger in time to get Eret right through his shoulder. The others took to long to turn at their new target, a detail the King is grateful for. Eret stumbles to his knees, voice cracking in his throat as he turns his head to stare at the arrow lodged halfway through the bone. He wheezes in pain, but smiles as he disappears into a burst of purple particles._ _

__When his mind catches up with his eyes, Eret’s on the grass in front of Jack Manifold’s house. His shoulder is searing with pain, and his sword is heavy in his hand, but Niki is there shaking him back to alertness as he comes to. He’s bleeding heavily, and it’s not long before the adrenaline coursing through his veins drowns out the agony._ _

__“Eret! What was that?” Niki asks, quickly helping Eret to his feet. She takes his good arm and throws it over her own shoulders, holding onto his side to support his weight. In the house behind them, they can hear Schlatt and his group frantically descending the stairs._ _

__“I don’t know, come on!” He replies, and they pause for a moment as they decide exactly what direction to run in. Where did he even see them Tommy and Wilbur go? Shit. Eret stares in the direction of Tommy’s home, and the hill behind it. He casts a glance at Niki, who meets his eye. He points shakily in that direction, and Niki nods in understanding. Holding onto each other tightly, they run._ _

__“Do you know which way Wilbur and Tommy went?” Niki gasps as they speed down the first hill. Arrows land in the grass beside them, some only narrowly missing where their feet had just been._ _

__“They were invisible, but I think I last saw them heading east.” Eret pants, mind racing as he attempts to ignore the pain in his shoulder. He opens his mouth to speak again, but the loose dirt suddenly catches beneath his foot. Eret stumbles, losing his grip on Niki’s uniform as he rolls uncontrollably down the rest of the hill. He comes to a stop at the bottom, surrounded by the dirt he’d displaced on the way down._ _

___“Fuck!” _Eret gasps, writhing on the ground. He’s holding his injured arm close to his chest as he lets out muffled sobs of pain. The arrow sticking out of his shoulder is gone now, dislodged by the fall, but the damage is done and the bleeding won’t stop. He’s just unlucky, really. Punz hit a good shot, right up on his arteries. The entire left side of his shirt is soaked at this point, and Eret groans in frustration. He can hear Niki behind him, sliding a bit more gracefully down the dirt he had, and it’s not long before gentle hands are frantically grabbing at him.__ _ _

____“Eret, come on, we have to go!” She pleads, looking straight into his eyes. His eyes? Shit- its only now that Eret realizes both his sunglasses and his crown have been knocked off in the fall. Normally, he’d be shying away, but he can’t bring himself to care about that right now, so his glasses go ignored._ _ _ _

____“Eret!” Niki says again, this time sign a sudden stern tone. “We have to go! I won’t leave you, we-“_ _ _ _

____“Why are you doing this?” Eret interrupts, looking up at Niki. His vision fades in and out of focus, and his mind is hazy with blood loss. “I… Why are you trying to save me? I betrayed you, I betrayed L’manburg. They don’t want me there anyways, go.” He’s stumbling over his words, desperate to make her understand._ _ _ _

____“No!” Niki gasps in disbelief, fumbling to pull Eret up with her. “Eret, you’re risking your life to help me right now, you know just as well as I do that what Schlatt is doing is not okay! We-“_ _ _ _

____“Ohhh Eret! Ohhh Niki!” A voice calls, and the two at the bottom of the hill glance back up to the top. Schlatt is standing there; George, Punz, Quackity, and Jack Manifold are beside him, and they’re each pointing their crossbows right at the pair._ _ _ _

____“Leave us alone, Schlatt!” Niki yells back, earning a chuckle from the man._ _ _ _

____“No actually, I don’t think we will!” Is his only reply, and they can hear the others atop the hill laugh along._ _ _ _

____“Niki, you have to go.” Eret mumbles, pulling himself up to sit slowly. “I can buy you time, but you need to get out of here. We.. We can’t let them get us both, at the very least.” It’s a grim reality, but Eret’s accepted it by now. Even if he could get out of this and run, the blood loss would surely catch up to him. He’d just be deadweight to Niki, and the mental image of her dragging his corpse across the open fields of unclaimed land is sickening. She’s stubborn like that, and they both know it- if Eret escapes with her, that’s exactly what will happen._ _ _ _

____“Shut up.” She practically hisses back, the exasperation in her voice clear. “I won’t go without you and that’s final.”_ _ _ _

____They’re at a standstill now, in more ways than one. On one hand, the people atop the hill and the pair at the bottom can’t do much. The pair can’t run, but if the group at the top shoots now, there’s no more fun to be found in the chase. On the other hand, Eret won’t move, and Niki won’t leave without him. They’re all frozen in the moment, and as the seconds go bye, Eret feels the blood continue to seep down his arm._ _ _ _

____His mind races as he thinks over his options. What’s in his pockets, his hotbar? What does he have on him right now? With his good hand, hidden from Schlatt’s view, Eret opens up his inventory desperately- and then he sees it. Relief floods through his body as he reaches down at the item, just to reassure himself it’s really there._ _ _ _

____“Niki, listen to me. You need to head east.” Eret begins quietly, brushing his fingers along the corked lid of a heavy and delicate bottle. “And don’t stop. Wilbur… he needs you most of all, okay?” He looks up, and Niki meets his eyes again. They stare at each other with such determination that for a moment, it’s like there’s no bad history between them._ _ _ _

____Niki wasn’t present for the heat of the revolution, but the moment she dawned a L’manburg uniform she had been caught up on his betrayal. Eret, ever the traitor- he let his country burn in exchange for petty riches and control, and for his crown. It’s laughable, to adorn himself with it. What kind of king is he? What kind of king is one born of such an act of treachery?_ _ _ _

____He has to rectify it. The enemy of his enemy, is his friend. Eret knows exactly what he has to do._ _ _ _

____“Eret, what are you-“_ _ _ _

____“Niki, please…” Erets pleading now, grasping the potion. “Please go.”_ _ _ _

____In a swift motion, Eret swings his body around so he’s face to face with Niki. Mouthing a quick apology, he pulls his knee back close to his chest, hesitates, and then promptly kicks Niki right in her stomach. The force sends her flying a good 5 feet away, and then even further as she stumbles to catch herself in shock. Satisfied with the distance, Eret pulls the potion from his inventory and throws it straight on the ground where she landed._ _ _ _

____In a splash of liquid and particles, Niki disappears._ _ _ _

____Eret can hear her horrified gasp as she realizes she’s what he’s done, but with no items in her inventory, there’s no way he can see her now. Her vanishing seems to be the end of the weird standstill between the top and bottom of the hill, and Eret can’t help but smile at the frustrated shouts behind him._ _ _ _

____“Where did she go?” George yells, already halfway down the hill, and that’s Eret’s sign to at least get out of their immediate way. Quickly, he drags himself up and stumbles forward near where Niki had stood, arm limp at his side. He only makes it a few steps before a hand grabs harshly at his injured shoulder, and he’s spun around to face Schlatt head on._ _ _ _

____“Eret, buddy!” The smile on the man's face is sinister, seething with passive rage. “Why’d you let her go, huh?”_ _ _ _

____“Fuck you.” Eret smiles back. “I won’t support your dictatorship, Schlatt.”_ _ _ _

____“Then you’ll die.” Is all Schlatt says in reply, shoving Eret back harshly. Eret stumbles backwards, desperately trying to shield his injured shoulder, but it’s in vain._ _ _ _

____For a moment, he does regret how this has all turned out. Experiencing death will be the worst part, but respawning at a time like this really isn’t ideal. First off, he’d lose all his stuff, but moreover his body would take time to recover. If he were lucky, he’d be waking up right back in his bed in just a couple days with a sore shoulder, but it just doesn’t feel that simple. His last set respawn point is the bed outside the election hall, right in the heart of this new tyrannical country. Right where someone could sit and wait for him to respawn, or even possibly trap him. It’s a nerve racking thought, but he’s accepted it already. He’ll die here, respawn, and deal with whatever consequences it brings. Then, as soon as he can, he’ll follow Niki east._ _ _ _

____“Any last words?” Quackity adjusts his tie, nocking his crossbow._ _ _ _

____He would have shook his head no, but Eret hears the grass behind him crunch softly and frowns. Niki hasn’t left yet- she’s waiting. _Why? _____ _ _

______“Just run.” Is all he says as he closes his eyes, and in a quick succession the arrows fly._ _ _ _ _ _

______—_ _ _ _ _ _

______Niki stares in horror, her hand clasped over her own mouth in order to keep silent. She never ran, frozen in place as she watches the gruesome scene. Eret crashes to the ground right in front of her, laying sprawled out on his back. Arrows stick out and pierce flesh in every which way, the blood spattering along his already beaten down robes. The royal velvet is stained a deep red as Eret lays on the grass, his wounds forming pools of fresh blood along his body. His chest heaves with the effort to breathe, but the arrows lodged in his lungs restrict him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Gentlemen, let’s go. I want those walls gone by sunset.” Schlatt commands, turning to walk back up the hill. His group follows, only hesitating a second to stare at their former friend. By the time they’re gone, Eret’s chest has almost stilled entirely, like he’s given up fighting it._ _ _ _ _ _

______Slowly, carefully- Niki approaches the dying man. Respawning in itself isn’t a bad process, but dying is agonizing. She hesitates as she stares down at him, alone on the grass, before crouching down next to him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Eret,” She whispers, the only indication that he can hear her being the frantic shifting of his eyes as he tries to see her. The invisibility potion is still in effect and there’s no way he’d be able to see her, but Niki’s presence is known._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I…” She begins, and suddenly realizes that she doesn’t know what to say. Tentatively, she places a hand on Eret’s cheek. He turns his head to the touch, his eyelids fluttering with effort to keep them open. With her other hand, she brushes the sweaty hair away from his face, and it hurts her deep in her heart. The terrifying but intimate moment feels so similar to the ones she’s had with her boys before, the other citizens of L’manburg. It’s like patting Tubbo on the shoulder after a long day when he’s exhausted, and watching him relax, or giving Tommy and high five while he retells his daring exploits from throughout the day while he’s heading towards his bed. It’s like a playful nudge to Fundy’s side when she interrupts the mechanic in his workshop, asking him to help her with petty schemes. It’s the same soft affection, like her softly pressing her finger onto Wilbur’s nose to watch him smile as he stresses over the responsibilities of running a nation._ _ _ _ _ _

______It’s friendship, and it’s love, and in this moment all subliminal hostility towards the traitor has been forgotten. It’s forgiveness, and it’s heartbreaking._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’ll,” She starts again, then shakes her head._ _ _ _ _ _

______“We’ll be back for you, Eret.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______He closes his eyes, and Niki watches as the cold hands of death overtake her own grasp on Eret. She pulls herself back up to her feet, breathing shakily, as she turns east and runs._ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are SO greatly appreciated, they encourage me to write more and mean so much. Kudos too! Thank you for reading!! I might make a few more short fics like this revolving around the election fallout and various directions it could have gone.


End file.
